Run in final minutes lifts Rockets over Bulls

Toney Douglas’ 3-pointer gave Houston the lead with 1:11 to play Wednesday night, and the Rockets held on for a 93-89 win over the Bulls at Toyota Center, snapping Houston’s three-game losing streak.

Douglas’ shot off an Omer Asik screen, putting the Rockets up 86-84, enabled Houston to prevail on a night that also featured a season-high 20 points from Patrick Patterson and 28 points from James Harden, who shook off the effects of upper respiratory distress that hampered him on Houston’s latest road trip.

Douglas would seem an unlikely savior down the stretch for a team that has thus far depended on Harden for big points, but Rockets acting coach Kelvin Sampson said he had Douglas in the game because he thought he presented a matchup opportunity against Chicago’s Nate Robinson.

“I was upset at him earlier,” Sampson said. “I got on him and said, ‘Son, don’t pass up those shots. You’re a good shooter.’

“I felt Toney gave us our best chance to win. I’m big on heart. I’m big on toughness. I always put a huge value on it.”

Houston had a 14-5 run to finish the game after the Bulls took an 84-79 lead on the strength of seven consecutive points by Robinson, capped by a 3-pointer to give Chicago an 84-79 lead with 4:42 to play.

The Rockets benefited down the stretch from an officials’ review on an out of bounds play with just under two minutes to play, giving them possession and leading to two free throws by Chandler Parsons, who scored 18, that pulled Houston within a point.

Free throws, in fact, played a major role in the win. The Rockets began the game shooting just seven of 13 from the line but hit 15 of 18 in the fourth quarter.

As for Houston’s defense, it was the Rockets’ 33rd consecutive win while holding their opponent under 90 points.

“I thought our defense was outstanding,” Sampson said. “They made some tough shots and got some second shots, but our half-court defense against their half-court offense was the difference, especially down the stretch.”

Robinson had 21 points to lead the Bulls, and Luol Deng had 19, including a 3-pointer in the final seconds.

Patterson had eight points in the third quarter as the Pockets took a 66-65 lead into the final period. Houston opened with a 9-2 run, including Lin’s first points since the first quarter, and benefited from 29.2 percent shooting in the quarter by the Bulls.

The Rockets’ indifferent shooting during their three-game road losing streak carried into the early moments of the first quarter. Chandler Parsons scored seven of Houston’s first eight points, and it was not until 5:59 remained in the quarter that Patrick Patterson became the first Rockets player other than Parsons to get on the board.

Harden, Patterson and Lin, however, stepped up their accuracy later in the period as the Rockets trailed 22-20 after a period despite shooting just 40.9 percent. Deng and Noah had six points each in the period for Chicago.

Houston got an early boost in the second quarter with six points off tne bench from Greg Smith, and Harden’s 3-pointer and free throw gave the Rockets a 28-23 lead, but the Bulls responded with a 16-3 run boosted by seven Rockets turnovers in eight and a half minutes.

Harden had five points in the final 1:38, giving him 16 in the first half, to pull Houston with 46-42 at halftime. Taj Gibson had seven off the bench for the Bulls, who shot 51.2 percent in the first half, in the second period.